Maligning President Kagame won’t erase Rusesabagina’s terrorism crimes

Months after the trial and conviction of terror kingpin Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotelier now serving a 25-year prison sentence for engaging in terrorist activities against Rwanda, his supporters have brazenly reverted to the character assassination of President Paul Kagame, in a weird belief that this will help set their man free.

The diehards spreading mischief and lies are led by Rusesabagina’s daughters, Carine and Anaise Kanimba, lobbyists including his international lawyers, and so-called human rights watchdogs. The most vocal of these organisations is, undoubtedly, the Lantos Foundation which, in 2011, awarded him the Lantos Prize, despite protests from genocide survivors' organisations warning that Rusesabagina is an impostor.

They also include well-known genocide revisionists and deniers like Benedict Moran who, like many of the Rusesabagina’s admirers, rehashed  his false heroics as a humanitarian campaigner, and so-called “fierce critic of President Kagame.” Moran sanctifies the terror kingpin, while vilifying President Kagame. This is clearer in Moran’s recent interview with the US-based broadcaster PBS News Hour titled “Dictatorial governments are reaching beyond their border to silence critics,” aired on December 4.

Like all Rusesabagina’s supporters, Moran uses the same script. He started his interview by fooling people that Rusesabagina, whom he said, “ was 39-year-old during the genocide used cash bribes and gifts of whiskey,” to keep away the killers to save over 1,200 people at the Mille Collines Hotel in 1994. This is a simplistic view which was jumped on by Hollywood to make the fiction film Hotel Rwanda. The latter catapulted Rusesabagina to fame, though he himself admitted that the story behind the movie was not real, and that it was as fictitious as it could be.

If anyone has any doubt that the Rusesabagaina’s story of saving thousands of people is fiction, please go and ask General Romeo Dallaire, the former Commander of the UN Force in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi who was incensed by the movie describing Rusesabagina as a hero of the Mille Collines.

It’s difficult to understand  how this Rusesabagina, who allegedly saved hundreds of Tutsi from murderous Interahamwe militias and the former genocidaire government, again went to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) as a defence witness to the very Generals who masterminded the genocide.

All along, Rusesabagina had always been a Hutu Power ideology faithful. This is clear through his speeches and support to extremist armed groups like the FDLR.

Rusesabagina amassed a fortune using his celebrity status when touring universities and colleges in North America, advancing genocide denial, and peddling the discredited double genocide theory.

In the PBS News Hour interview, Benedict cunningly hoodwinked people and tried to make them believe that the Hollywood ‘hero’ was targeted by the Rwandan government for his “fame.” This is preposterous, to say the least. It is also laughable because Kagame never envied a man who went around selling lies about his heroism.

The journalist also quoted Rusesabagina claiming: “With the Rwandan government, you are not allowed to be a popular person who is not working for them. Either you are with them, their friend, or you are their enemy, and that's it. You are their enemy because you tell what they don't want to be told. I'm not the only one, there are many others today.”

Other spurious allegations made in the interview with Rusesabagina which helps Moran to justify his fallacious “transnational oppression” levelled against the Rwandan government, include talk of a burglary which may have taken place at Rusesabagina’s home in Brussels.

Was the break-in in Rusesabagina’s home investigated by the Belgian police? There is no proof that it was conducted by the Rwandan government. This is just fanciful fabrication aimed at re-affirming Rusesabagina’s victimhood.

In the same interview, he accepted making “provocative statements against the Rwandan government” in 2018 and denied any part in any violent act. However, this was not a mere statement. His was a call for a violent overthrow of the legitimate Rwandan government.

His disassociation with terror attacks on Rwandan soil doesn’t hold water. He founded the MRCD/FLN terror group, and he was its financier. Evidence from FBI, the Belgian Prosecution and his co-accused is proof of his direct involvement.

Allegations made by Moran should be understood as part of his efforts, together with another Rwandan hater, a Canadian national and genocide denier, Anjan Sundaram, to tarnish the image of President Kagame in a documentary called “Man of the Year.”

That documentary received tremendous financial support by the Lantos Foundation, the same entity which wrongly awarded Rusesabagina the Lantos Prize in 2011.

This explains the note of appreciation by Moran to the foundation: “Enormously grateful for the support that Lantos Foundation is making to our documentary "Man of the Year" #Rwanda @anjansun @LantosFndn”.

One easily sees how foreign money is used to tarnish the image and reputation of an African President. But they are all mistaken because Kagame is not thin-skinned.

What’s really putting me off in this interview is how Moran bought into the Rusesabagina’s myths and lies. Why doesn’t he challenge Rusesabagina’s assertation on his 2018 declaration of war yet he claimed he did not support acts of violence?

What did he think would happen when he funnelled thousands of Euros to armed groups in the region including his MRCD/FLN which killed nine people inside Rwanda and destroyed a lot of property?

 Ignoring facts suits his lies and fabrications.

People like Moran will go on unleashing all sorts of unfounded allegations against Kagame. But nothing will distract him from safeguarding Rwanda’s national interests, especially preserving its sovereignty.